Fortea or Jiménez: Real Madrid's Next Right-Back Decision

Dani Carvajal’s farewell at the Bernabéu this weekend is more than the end of a long, decorated spell at right-back. It rips open a question Real Madrid have managed to postpone for a decade: who dares step into that corridor of responsibility on the right side of their defence?

With Trent Alexander-Arnold expected to hold down the starting role, the club’s search is not for a superstar but for the next man in line. The safety net. The successor. And inside Valdebebas, eyes are turning inwards.

Big-name options such as Pedro Porro at Tottenham and Diogo Dalot at Manchester United have admirers in the offices, but the numbers and circumstances simply do not add up. The market looks complicated. The academy, less so. According to AS, the solution may already be walking those familiar training pitches: Jesús Fortea or David Jiménez.

Fortea: the prodigy who broke a pact

Jesús Fortea’s story at Real Madrid began with a rupture. To sign him, the club broke the long-standing non-aggression pact with Atlético Madrid, lifting a 15-year-old full-back from their academy and bringing him across the city. You do that only when you believe you’re getting something special.

Now 19 and 1.75m tall, Fortea is one of the brightest attacking full-backs in La Fábrica. Quick, daring on the ball, always looking to surge forward, he was immediately tagged as Carvajal’s “natural heir” when he arrived. Big label. Heavy shirt.

His rise, though, has not been a straight climb. Instead of a smooth promotion path, he stalled at Real Madrid C when many expected him to jump directly to Castilla. When he finally reached Castilla, he struggled to lock down the spot. For a while, the talk around him softened. Others moved ahead. He had to fight his way back into the picture.

He did exactly that. Fortea became an important piece in Juvenil A’s UEFA Youth League-winning side, showing why Madrid had gone to such lengths to sign him. The traits are clear: speed, skill, constant attacking intent. He stretches games, adds width, and offers that modern full-back profile the club values so highly.

The weakness is just as clear. He still needs polishing without the ball. Positioning, duels, defensive timing – the details that separate a promising full-back from one trusted at the Bernabéu in May and June. Inside the club, he is viewed as a big bet for the future, protected by a contract until 2029. The question is whether that future starts now.

Jiménez: the quiet captain

On the other side of the debate stands David Jiménez, the academy’s quiet constant. If Fortea is the headline, Jiménez is the footnote you only appreciate when he’s gone.

He joined La Fábrica back in 2013 from Móstoles URJC, a boy who grew up idolising Álvaro Arbeloa. The path since then has been steady, almost old-fashioned: one youth category at a time, no shortcuts, no noise. Just work, and more work, until the captain’s armband at Castilla ended up on his arm.

Inside Valdebebas, they talk about his professionalism, his attitude, his team-first mentality. He’s called a “silent leader” for a reason. He doesn’t dominate highlight reels, but he dominates the trust of his coaches.

That trust reached the first team on 17 December, when Jiménez made his debut in the Copa del Rey against Talavera under Xabi Alonso. It wasn’t a one-off. He has already collected three more appearances and even started a league game against Valencia. Each outing reinforced the same impression: solid, reliable, low-risk.

He is not explosive, not spectacular. He rarely makes glaring mistakes, but he rarely steals the show either. The comparison that follows him around Valdebebas is a flattering one: Nacho Fernández. Another academy defender who built a career out of doing the simple things well, again and again, without ever needing the spotlight.

At 22, Jiménez is not a distant project. He is ready-made depth, a plug-and-play option who understands the shirt, the demands, and the defensive rigour required.

Two paths, one decision

Real Madrid now stand at a familiar crossroads: bet on pure potential or lean on guaranteed reliability. Fortea offers upside, electricity, the possibility of a future star at right-back. Jiménez offers calm, continuity, and the sort of internal solution that has quietly underpinned many of the club’s best squads.

The market still looms. If the right opportunity appears, the club will always look. But with Carvajal saying goodbye and Alexander-Arnold entrenched as the starter, the battle behind him may well be decided not in a boardroom, but on the training pitches of Valdebebas.

Fortea or Jiménez. Risk or reassurance. Which profile does the next version of Real Madrid really want patrolling that right flank?